Josh784

I have a question for the Wine.Woot staff: do you only ship via UPS? UPS service in Seattle is mind-bogglingly terrible, and I cringe every time I want to order something online where UPS is the only shipping option.

ddeuddeg

Always keep a bottle of Champagne in the fridge for special occasions. Sometimes the special occasion is that you've got a bottle of Champagne in the fridge. - Hester Browne
Filmmaker/winemaker Francis Ford Coppola says his two professions are almost the same and that each depends on source material and takes a lot of time to perfect.
The big difference: "Today's winemakers still worry about quality."

ddeuddeg

nallie wrote: Seeing that I was limited to only one set upon ordering further suggests this will be a quick sell-out.

Until I read this post, I'd probably have overlooked that. Now I have to decide more quickly. It looks too good to pass up, despite the lack of space. I don't know whether to thank you or curse you.

Always keep a bottle of Champagne in the fridge for special occasions. Sometimes the special occasion is that you've got a bottle of Champagne in the fridge. - Hester Browne
Filmmaker/winemaker Francis Ford Coppola says his two professions are almost the same and that each depends on source material and takes a lot of time to perfect.
The big difference: "Today's winemakers still worry about quality."

spdrcr05

ddeuddeg wrote:Until I read this post, I'd probably have overlooked that. Now I have to decide more quickly. It looks too good to pass up, despite the lack of space. I don't know whether to thank you or curse you.

For me the limit of 1 is actually a detractor. When I decide to buy (here, brick & mortar retail, other sites, etc...), I'm almost always getting at least 2.... 1 to drink now so I can assess my purchase and 1 (or more) to save for it's optimum drinking window.

My personal experience (YMMV.. just MY opinion) with Washington reds says that the QPR is usually out of whack compared to what you can get from California.

In periods of profound change, the most dangerous thing is to incrementalize yourself into the future -- Thomas Edision

jwhite6114

Shipping is a little tricky to calculate on this one, as the winery website does not provide specific shipping costs, but we all know no one beats woot shipping, anyway. So unless you're picking this up at the winery and already belong to their wine club, your just not going to see the same prices as is offered here.

You know the routine: click the link above for details on the discount, CT prices, etc..

annsalisbury

Oh, I thought that was a reference to Peter's (likely joke) comment yesterday that you couldn't spell when we were trying to guess at the clue. And then you did the misspelling when referencing Peter and ... it's all so terribly meta that I didn't realize that it was unintentional. Sorry, I'm really not that much of a donkey. I do, apparently, have too much time on my hands to read all that into it. :-/

ddeuddeg

aces219 wrote:This is the exact opposite of my experience, at least at the higher end. But as you said, YMMV.

You wouldn't be just a wee bit biased, would you?

Always keep a bottle of Champagne in the fridge for special occasions. Sometimes the special occasion is that you've got a bottle of Champagne in the fridge. - Hester Browne
Filmmaker/winemaker Francis Ford Coppola says his two professions are almost the same and that each depends on source material and takes a lot of time to perfect.
The big difference: "Today's winemakers still worry about quality."

speedoo

spdrcr05 wrote:For me the limit of 1 is actually a detractor. When I decide to buy (here, brick & mortar retail, other sites, etc...), I'm almost always getting at least 2.... 1 to drink now so I can assess my purchase and 1 (or more) to save for it's optimum drinking window.

My personal experience (YMMV.. just MY opinion) with Washington reds says that the QPR is usually out of whack compared to what you can get from California.

You can now buy more than one set.

I'm interested in discussing the relative QPR of Washington/Oregon reds vs. California. Would you consider expanding on your opinion in a thread in the "World of Woot Wine" area?

gcdyersb

speedoo wrote:I'm interested in discussing the relative QPR of Washington/Oregon reds vs. California. Would you consider expanding on your opinion in a thread in the "World of Woot Wine" area?

I'd be curious to follow this discussion as well. Based on a small sample size of personal experience and the info on multiple Woot offers, my impression is Washington wines are reaching the same levels of flavor development without the extreme sugar levels and super-high pHs present in much of California.

ddeuddeg

ddeuddeg wrote:Until I read this post, I'd probably have overlooked that. Now I have to decide more quickly. It looks too good to pass up, despite the lack of space. I don't know whether to thank you or curse you.

EDIT: No longer applicable, since I want 2, I want 3 buttons have appeared.

Always keep a bottle of Champagne in the fridge for special occasions. Sometimes the special occasion is that you've got a bottle of Champagne in the fridge. - Hester Browne
Filmmaker/winemaker Francis Ford Coppola says his two professions are almost the same and that each depends on source material and takes a lot of time to perfect.
The big difference: "Today's winemakers still worry about quality."

INTLGerard

Casey7Hills wrote:The primary motivation is show the personality of one site with the Klipsun, a great Cab site on Red Mountain. We committed to making a vineyard-designated wine from Klipsun in the early 90's, and have a great set vertical vintages at this point. Its, ageable, powerful, and has a distinct character. And I use the French Oak 100% on this one because it needs that refined, elegant oak to help balance it.

A little background on the Klipsun vineyard of Red mountain which is a very well known and highly acclaimed vineyard for its exceptional quality. They have a long list of quality producers sourcing from there. Here is a good article from the Seattle Weekly and App America on the Klispun vineyard. You can also check here for their client list..

themostrighteous

yumitori wrote:I definitely perked up at that as well, but then read that the '06 is 'just' Columbia Valley'. Big area, a great deal of variety, and not all to the good...

tru dat, but i am always willing to give WD the benefit of the doubt on at least one bottle per order when i order (which, alas, is less & less frequently these days) - that would be the 2006 in this particular case.

EDIT: and if you don't think THAT sounds like dissonance reduction... :D

cwinther

Just popping in to say that I've had the 05 cab and it was delicious. Well integrated, a bit spicy, long smooth finish. I think I bought it for around 30 bucks.

Haven't had the 06 cab, but I'm usually more than happy with Seven Hills' juice. I had the 06 Malbec a week or two ago and it was also great.

Just an aside as to WA vs CA QPR, I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that it's WA that is out of whack. With the level of growth out here I think there are plenty of values. Of course, with all these new wineries there's bound to be some duds as well I suppose.

PetiteSirah

themostrighteous wrote:tru dat, but i am always willing to give WD the benefit of the doubt on at least one bottle per order when i order (which, alas, is less & less frequently these days) - that would be the 2006 in this particular case.

EDIT: and if you don't think THAT sounds like dissonance reduction... :D

I hear you. It's been a long time since I've ordered -- the K Syrah 6(!) weeks ago, which I think is the longest I've gone without ordering since I started really frequenting this part of wooting (with the exception of bar exam/israel trip separating purchases from 7/9/07 to 9/9/07)

It's a combination of:

girlfriend (and she doesn't really enjoy alcohol in general, meaning I drink much less wine with meals than I used to)

being basically at/overflowing my storage capacity as future orders are coming in, and with a planned move within 3-4 months

finances being tight

But I loved the Pepper Bridge Cab (still got a bottle!), and I'm a big fan of Washington reds, so I'm actually considering this one (for one) despite everything else, and against my better judgment.

Casey7Hills

canonizer wrote:Small wineries don't necessarily get permits for every state. Depending on the scale of production and distribution, it doesn't necessarily make sense to ship everywhere theoretically possible.

Know any wootleggers?

I will throw my hat into the ring. I bought pedroncelli and this week's after a fairly long hiatus from purchases. I'm looking forward to the acidity and moderated alcohol, cough, wd, cough cough.

Casey, do you have records of the brix when the grapes were picked?

edit: so many people beat me to so many of the things I said above.

The Klipsun Cab was about 24.5B at harvest, and the weighted average on the Col Val Cab was in the low to mid 24s brix-wise.

Casey7Hills

gcdyersb wrote:I'd be curious to follow this discussion as well. Based on a small sample size of personal experience and the info on multiple Woot offers, my impression is Washington wines are reaching the same levels of flavor development without the extreme sugar levels and super-high pHs present in much of California.

Right on. In general you will find a little lower alcohols and pHs up north here. We cool down more rapidly in the final months of the season. This makes for nicely balanced wines with food, and less palate-fatigueing.

Casey7Hills

Question 1 for the winemaker: How would you compare your winemaking style to some of the other washington cabs we've had on here -- e.g., Pepper Bridge '01 Cab, Reininger Helix, Reininger?

To summarize, more restrained oak, a lighter touch on the alcohol, a bit brighter pH. Perhaps significantly older vines in the mix. The effect, overall is wines that reflect their origin in the vineyard, are subtle but complex, pair well with food, and that keep you engaged in the wine til the bottle is empty. Also, I like to believe that my quarter century of experience in the wine biz and a long history of visiting and tasting wines of other region helps drive the house style here at Seven Hills

Casey7Hills

PetiteSirah wrote:Question 3-5 for the winemaker:
What is the pH of each wine?
How would you describe the tannin structure of each?
Building on the last 2 questions, what would you say is the ideal drinking/aging window for each wine?

Can I fill in further details that haven't appeared in previous posts.... I don't want to leave any unanswered questions lingering....

aces219

It's true that I enjoy Washington wine and that I have the greatest opportunities to taste it since I live here, but I am also a sucker for CA cab. And if anyone has had Betz cab for <$60 a bottle, I don't know how you can tell me that CA consistently has better QPR. However, I can see the previous poster's point that it is possible that CA is better in the $10 - 20 space, though I think Yakima Valley has some screaming values here too.

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